Montreal police investigators believe the suspect shot by provincial police in St-Rémi-de-Napierville on Monday used his own gun when he fired at an officer, contrary to eyewitness reports.

The Sûreté du Québec (SQ) officer, 29, was shot in the thigh, and the suspect, 41, was shot several times during the mid-afternoon confrontation outside a restaurant on Notre-Dame Street. Witnesses assist a police officer after she was shot by a suspect in the thigh outside a restuarant on Notre-Dame Street. Witnesses assist a police officer after she was shot by a suspect in the thigh outside a restuarant on Notre-Dame Street. Submitted by MajdSleiman

Eyewitnesses said the customer lunged at the officer outside the eatery, then rounds of gunfire ensued.

"It was fast, fast, fast, not even a minute," said one witness, Michael Champagne-Filion.

Witnesses also told reporters the suspect managed to disarm the officer before shooting her in the leg, but Const. Olivier Lapointe said investigators have found no evidence to back up that claim.

"We know that some witnesses, from their point of view, think that this is what happened, but for now we don't think that it's what happened," said Lapointe.

"We know that the suspect had a gun of his own and it's probably that gun that he used."

Montreal police have taken over the investigation.

It's not clear who called police to the eatery just before 2:30 p.m. ET, but Lapointe said the whole incident appears to have started with an abduction earlier in the day.

Lapointe said the suspect broke into a woman's house in the city southwest of Montreal and forced her into his car.

"She was randomly chosen," said Lapointe.

After forcing the woman into the vehicle, Lapointe said, the suspect drove downtown.

"At a certain point, the woman was able to get out of the car and seek help," he said.

It's not clear if the woman or someone else, possibly a patron at the restaurant, contacted police.

Some eyewitnesses told CBC News the suspect wandered in behaving strangely and asking for directions to the nearest RCMP detachment.

The SQ officer was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, and the suspect is also considered to be in stable condition in hospital.

"Now we have to understand how and why it happened," said Lapointe.